Free online WAV to MIDI converter

A sequencer, notation program, synthesizer, or hardware device may require editable MIDI events instead of a recorded audio track. Converting the recording makes its estimated notes available for editing, but the result depends heavily on the source material.

What the WAV format is

WAV is an audio container based on RIFF that commonly stores uncompressed PCM samples. It preserves the recorded waveform without the lossy compression used by MP3, so it is widely used for studio recording, editing, mastering, sound effects, and archival files.

A WAV file can contain sample rate, bit depth, channel count, and duration metadata, but normally contains no separate note, pitch, instrument, or performance events. Applications such as Audacity, Adobe Audition, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, and Windows Sound Recorder can create or export WAV files. Although PCM is the usual audio encoding, the WAV container can also hold other codecs.

What the MIDI format is

MIDI is event data, not recorded sound. A Standard MIDI File stores events such as note-on, note-off, velocity, controller changes, program changes, tempo, and timing information. Files normally use the .mid or .midi extension and need a synthesizer, virtual instrument, keyboard, or other MIDI playback system to produce sound.

MIDI notes can be edited in a piano roll, transposed, quantized, assigned to different instruments, or imported into notation software. MIDI files are usually much smaller than WAV files, but they do not preserve the original singer, microphone tone, room sound, effects, or exact instrument timbre.

How to convert a WAV file to MIDI

Using the built-in converter

101convert.com provides a free WAV-to-MIDI converter that works without installing desktop software.

1. Open the WAV-to-MIDI converter on 101convert.com.
2. Upload the source file, preferably a dry recording containing one prominent melody, instrument, or vocal line.
3. Start the conversion and wait while the service analyzes pitch and timing.
4. Download the resulting .mid file and open it in a DAW, notation application, or MIDI-compatible device.

Using Spotify Basic Pitch

Spotify Basic Pitch is an open-source audio-to-MIDI transcription tool that can analyze monophonic and polyphonic recordings. Install it with Python:

python -m pip install basic-pitch

Convert a WAV file by supplying an output directory and the input path:

basic-pitch midi-output recording.wav

The output directory contains a MIDI transcription that can be imported into a DAW or notation program. Remove silence and unnecessary effects before processing; a dry, isolated track generally produces fewer false notes.

Using desktop music software

• In Ableton Live, place the audio on a track, select the clip, and choose Convert Melody to New MIDI Track for a single-note line, Convert Harmony to New MIDI Track for chords, or Convert Drums to New MIDI Track for percussion.
• In Celemony Melodyne, open the audio, select the appropriate Melodic, Polyphonic, or Percussive algorithm, and use File → Export → MIDI.
• In other DAWs or notation programs, use an explicitly named audio-to-MIDI or audio-transcription function. Ordinary WAV import, WAV playback, and MIDI import do not analyze audio automatically.

Audacity can edit and export WAV files but does not natively transcribe audio into MIDI. FFmpeg can change audio containers or codecs but cannot identify musical notes from a waveform.

Quality and compatibility limits

This is transcription, not a direct format rewrite. The software estimates pitch, note starts, note endings, velocity, tempo, and sometimes separate instruments. Noise, reverb, distortion, vibrato, overlapping notes, changing tempo, and dense mixes can create extra notes or omit real ones.

For the most reliable result, use one clearly audible instrument or vocal line, limited ambience, and a steady tempo. Polyphonic piano, chords, and full mixes require more advanced analysis and commonly need manual correction. Drum transcription detects transients and maps them to MIDI drum notes; it does not copy the original drum sounds.

Inspect the result in a piano roll after conversion. Delete false triggers, add missed notes, correct octave errors, adjust note lengths and velocities, and quantize only when timing correction is wanted. If the WAV contains tempo changes, reconstruct or edit the MIDI tempo map manually.

MIDI playback depends on the receiving instrument, sound bank, program assignments, channels, and tempo. Correctly transcribed notes can therefore sound different from the source recording until suitable virtual instruments and MIDI settings are selected.